Easter is one of civilization’s stranger holidays. It isn’t set to a fixed date, nor is it delegated to the colder months – as to ward off the dark and miserable nights. Aside from springtime connotations, its base is predominantly Christian – remembering the time someone picked up xX_Jdog-Chri15t_Xx’s reboot card before clipping all non-believers and heretics – yet it is not as widely recognised as Christmas (Easter being officially celebrated in 95 countries, Christmas being celebrated in 160). It is somewhat quaint, the celebration of the resurrection of a messiah through a period of reflection and self-control proceeded by the gorging of chocolate. Easter is a celebration going back just under 2000 years and (like with Christmas) in that time different traditions have sprung up around it, and today we will be looking at the five historical origins of Easter traditions.
Lent
The 40 day lead up to Easter Sunday – a period for reflection, in the same length of time that Jesus spent in the desert – a time when individuals give something up, in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice. Lent’s origins trace back to the First Council of Nicaea, a meeting of several of the early Christian canons, headed by Rome’s first Christian Emperor, Constantine. The Latin term for the period is ‘quadragesima’ (just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it), but its modern name derives from the Old English for ‘lengthen’ (as in, the days getting longer with the advent of summer) – showing the ever-present Pagan connections to so many western holidays. Lent was strictly upheld by early Christians, with St. Augustine of Hippo commenting ‘during Lent, we sin if we do not fast’ – whereas nowadays, Lent is seen as a chance to fail in curbing crippling alcoholism. Anyhow, you shouldn’t really listen to Augustine (take it from an RS student – dude’s a total nutcase). Several events occur over Lent, including: Shrove Tuesday; Ash Wednesday; Mother’s Day; Palm Sunday; Maundy Thursday; (and) Good Friday – and we can observe a tradition particular tied to that final entry.
The Hot-Cross Bun
This spiced and fruity delicacy marked with a cross on top is associated with Easter, but its roots are traceable from a variety of sources. One source predates Christianity, in that the Ancient Egyptians baked a bread roll dish similar in appearance as it featured the signature cross that is now often attributed to the Hot-Cross Bun. This was representative of the four seasons instead of the crucifixion – if it were representative of the crucifixion, just imagine if Jesus had seen one of those pastries whilst living in Egypt (should’ve been a dead giveaway for him). Yet the spiced and fruited version of the bun is attributable to the 6th Century Ancient Greeks, later being adopted by the Romans. The Egyptian’s tradition of baking with a cross was continued into the Middle Ages, as bakers added a cross to their bread to ward off evil spirits, but overtime this practice was only continued with the Hot-Cross Bun. The practice of marking a cross on the bun started with monks in the 12th century, the buns, as mentioned, being traditionally eaten on Good Friday. Today, Hot-Cross Buns can be readily purchased at most supermarkets throughout lent – alongside a more notable Easter treat.
Easter Eggs
Eggs were historically all used up before Lent (used for pancake batter) before the 40-day period in which their consumption was prohibited. Now, those early Christians were faced with a dilemma – how to use the several eggs saved over Lent. A few options arose: (A) chuck them at passersby; (B) make a giant omelette; (or C) overanalyse eggs as symbolic of springtime, fertility, and Jesus’ resurrection – I would’ve picked ‘A’. Egg-based symbolism separately spawned in several regions, yet many of these egg-based traditions involved their colouring in. In 1290 for example, the household accounts of Edward I featured costs for 450 coloured eggs. Similarly to Christmas, Easter became more family oriented under the Victorians – with cardboard gift eggs being given to children, including the young Queen Victoria. For those studying the Ancien Régime’s collapse for your history NEA at Ashville (good luck to you, you’ll need it), one aspect of extravagance of the Bourbon monarchy manifests with the first chocolate Easter Eggs appearing at Versailles during Louis XIV’s reign (you can now add me to your footnotes). The modern Easter egg was primarily developed by Cadbury’s, who have continued to dominate the Easter Egg market. They even make eggs bigger than actual ostrich eggs now – I have a real ostrich egg at home; can confirm, God makes all creatures ‘great and small’ but Cadbury’s makes bigger eggs. These eggs would then be used for the staple Easter tradition – the Egg Hunt. Surprisingly, this tradition is older than you’d expect, dating back to the Late 16th Century – being in-part tied to the Protestant Reformation; in that it was first started by Martin Luther who would organise Eggs Hunts for his congregation, reflecting the discovery of the stone to Jesus’ tomb being moved (there comes the over analysation). And with the Egg Hunts’ advent, the introduction of an Egg Hider was needed. This leads into the next tradition.
The Easter Bunny
Originally known as the Easter Hare, the colourful coney originated in the Lutheran tradition, its first written reference appearing in 1682 in the essay ‘De Ovis Paschalibus’ (‘On Easter eggs’) – the Church has literally nothing better to do does it. The link between the Easter season and rabbits goes back further, with hares being linked to Springtime, fertility and thusly to the Virgin Mary. Even early on, the base of the Easter Bunny’s gimmick remains the same – a hare that visits with a basket to hide eggs for the Egg Hunt (although now nearly exclusively for children across the world). The Easter Hare’s original German name was the ‘Osterhase’, but the rambunctious rabbit became a ‘bunny’ with its introduction to America by German immigrants settling in America in the 18th century, and the Americanisation of the character spawning the Easter Bunny – damn yanks, always Americanising holidays. Since then, the Easter Bunny has been hiding chocolate every Easter for children to go and hunt for. Now for something slightly more dramatic than a diabetic long-eared gerbil.
The Passion Plays
Local plays performed recreating the events of Jesus’ final days and resurrection. Instead of involving Mel Gibson, the Passion Plays were often performed by amateurs – therefore being actually good. Medieval city guilds were charged with their production. Each local guild would produce their own ‘pageant’ (a smaller part of a wider play), with each guild electing a ‘pageant master’ (essentially a director). The most well known example of these plays occurred relatively locally to us in Harrogate, in the City of York (York University’s MOOC, ‘the Hidden History of York’, superbly showcases the history of these plays). In York, the play was broken down into 50 pageants, performed over the whole day on wagons moved through York’s tight medieval streets. They were discontinued in 1569, as the Reformation forbade religious depictions (especially of the Virgin Mary). The plays faded into obscurity, until scripts were saved and published in 1885 by librarian Lucy Toulmin Smith – eventually being reperformed at the Festival of Britain in 1951 (another link to the A-Level History Course at Ashville). This led to the re-popularization of the passion play, with performances for decades after. One modern example being the Passion in Port Albert in the early 2010s, which retold the story of the passion in a contemporary setting, with Jesus being replaced by a schoolteacher played by the eminent Michael Sheen, in an interactive and emotional experience that lasted for three days – a testament to the long history of Easter, and the ever-presence of its celebrations in society.
The celebrations of Easter are old and multi-faceted. From the Protestant Reformation to the Council of Nicaea, the Palace of Versailles to the streets of York, Easter’s presence has been felt every springtime for nearly 2000 years. Aside from the name of a school break, most students probably don’t think too much about the history and tradition of Easter – aside from when in the Easter service itself (although such contemplations are often marred by thoughts of ‘how much longer do I have to sit here? My backside is going numb’). I briefly touched on similar ideas in my Christmas historical article regarding the current Upper Sixth – this will be, for all of us, the final Easter of our school years and (for some of us) our final Easter before adulthood. In-between revising for our real A-Levels – makes me agitated just writing that – we should make time for Easter. We should follow in the ideas of the Victorians, and treat Easter as a family time, enjoy the coming of Spring, having some downtime from revision – not too much mind. Hopefully, a look at the heritage of Easter traditions can help you value your time you have this Easter season, and if you take away anything from this article, take away the following three points: revise to the best of your abilities, and moreso; spend time with your family and have some necessary downtime; (and, most importantly) remember, the real celebrations begin the day after Easter, when all the chocolate is half-price.
Happy Easter.